On January 5, add a little extra something special to desserts to celebrate National Whipped Cream Day. Add whipped cream! Not only does it add creaminess and bit of pizzaz, but it also makes the difference between the ho-hum or a celebration kind of beverage or dessert.
- This holiday falls on the birthday of Reddi-wip founder Aaron “Bunny” Lapin. Aaron who invented Reddi-wip in 1948, was born on January 5, 1914, and died on July 10, 1999.
- It was in 1946, when the aerosol can was first invented by Aaron Lapin, that sales and popularity of this dessert delight really took off.
- Whipped cream is also sometimes called Chantilly cream or creme Chantilly.
- Recipes from the 16th century included whipped cream that was sweetened and aromatised. The names milk snow and snow cream were used.
- The English name whipped cream found its beginning in 1673. The name snow cream continued to be used throughout the 17th century.
- Chilled cream whips better than warm cream, at times if not chilled properly the cream may not whip. Also, it renders a deeper taste.
- Cream must be below 50 degrees to whip, at 50 or above it churns into butter rather than whips.
- Whipped cream has been around since the 16th century. It was included in recipes that date back to 1549 in Italy and 1604 in France.
- Until the 19th century, recipes for whipped cream called for whipping the cream with a willow or rush branch in place of the modern whisk.
- The world record for the tallest dollop of whipped cream on a mug of hot chocolate is 7 1/4 inches set by Melissa Arkin and Casey McLaughlin in 2011.
- Imitations of whipped cream, often sold under the name whipped topping. Whipped topping normally contains some mixture of partially hydrogenated oil, sweeteners, water, and stabilizers and emulsifiers added to prevent syneresis, similar to margarine instead of the butter fat in the cream used in whipped cream.
- It’s been around since 1966. Cool Whip was first produced as an alternative to homemade whipped cream in Avon, NY. And it’s still made there today.
- Watergate salad totally put it on the map. Sure, Cool Whip was a favorite among home bakers for layering in their icebox cakes, but it was the Watergate Salad, a.k.a. Pistachio Delight, invented in 1975 that featured the whipped topping as the main ingredient. And things only took off from there.
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